Life Reimagined (REMIX EDITION)

For those who had some difficulties with the previous format: a somewhat more readable edition. I should note that it was perhaps a style poorly suited to the content I chose to display within.

I've had a lot of time to think about things lately. This is largely due to my doing less programming and video-gaming, which used to eat up a lot more of my time. I've also done a lot of reading; and in this case, the two coincide. I realized that the 'magic' in a series of novels I've been reading could very well be the result of advanced nanotechnology. (There are different varieties of magic in the novels, but that's not really essential to my point.) It is my my hypothesis that nanotechnology 'went rampant' and consumed the entire planet. Thus, the planet, and everything on it, is actually composed of nanomachines; much as cells or perhaps even mere proteins compose our own bodies, with one notable exception. Unlike proteins, nanotechnology could be designed to respond to radio or other signals; thus allowing the very fabric of the planet to be shaped by simple signals. If the nanomachines composing the people on that planet could transmit, then, well, mere thought (if properly applied) could shape everything. Or, in other words: magic.

This redefines a number of things in other terms. Magic rituals would be methods of manipulating the nanotech. In the novels, most magic is accomplished with the help of the 'Orb', an ancient artefact that grants some sorcerous ability to every citizen of the Empire. (It's slightly complicated.) The Orb would perhaps be an interpreter for mages - taking 'signals' from them and transmitting orders to nanotech as appropriate. Thus, one could teleport (assemble oneself out of nanotech at one end while disassembling at the other), call down lightning (electric charges of opposite charges generated by nanomachines at target and source), etc., etc.. "Elder sorcery", rarely attempted due to the danger inherent in it, is explained in the novels as the use of the two "seas of amorphia" to practice magic unaided by the Orb. In the context of nanomachines, the seas could be thought of as unrestricted (or less-restricted) nanomachine clusters. Thus, their use is dangerous (due to the potential for them to simply absorb any users); but, on the other hand, they could be manipulated more easily than the normal sort of nanomachine.

It's neat! Really!

I blame Vernor Vinge for everything.